Welding wire used in high production operations, such as robotic welding stations, is provided in large packages having over 200 pounds of wire. The welding wire in these packages is looped into convolutions of wire loops forming a wire coil extending around a central core or a central clearance bore.
However, even the use of large packaging does not eliminate down-time for the welding operation when the welding wire of the packaging or container is exhausted. Even if a new container of welding wire is staged for a quick changeover, the welding wire from the new container must be threaded through the feeding apparatuses and to the welding torch. As can be appreciated, this can cause significant downtime, especially for welding operations that consume a large quantity of welding wire. Accordingly, it has been proposed to butt weld the trailing end of the welding wire from one container to the leading end of the welding wire from another container. As the wire is exhausted in one container, the last remaining loop rises in the container and folds over itself to produce an e-script tangle condition. As can be appreciated, the e-script tangle forces the operation to be shut down so that the e-script can be removed.